Menopause Is Finally Getting Attention From Lawmakers

Although menopause is a stage all women go through in their lives, it has long been taboo, misunderstood, trivialized, or ignored, both in the medical field and in the larger culture.

As a result, large numbers of women have been unable to fully understand their changing bodies and know what to expect as well as how to advocate for themselves with medical providers.

Menopause, defined as 12 consecutive months without a period, is preceded by perimenopause, when ovarian function begins to decline over several years. Many may be familiar with the common symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and weight gain. But other perimenopause symptoms include irregular menstrual cycles, increased anxiety, brain fog, and urinary leaks. Women during this phase are also at risk for cardiovascular issues, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

For decades, women’s health advocates have been combating the stigma and misinformation around menopause and perimenopause, undertaking efforts to demystify women’s health, obtain funding and resources for quality research, and advocate for equitable treatment for women patients.

Recently, some of these efforts are being reflected in proposed legislation. Since 2023, 20 bills regarding menopause have been introduced in 13 states. The bills cover various aspects of menopause treatment and education, including awareness, training for medical providers, insurance coverage, and making workplaces more accommodating. Although only three of those bills were passed, advocates are encouraged because they reflect a new acknowledgment that more needs to be done and a potential to make positive change at the policy level.

“It’s about time,” said Barb Dehn, a women’s health nurse practitioner in San Francisco. “It’s been in the shadows, and it’s great that we’re recognizing this biology in a person’s life. We owe it to women to increase awareness.”

In January, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, an OB-GYN and the author of The New Menopause, and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, the executive director of the Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center at the New York University School of Law, published A Citizen’s Guide to Menopause Advocacy, a document that laid out a broad agenda for menopause advocacy, including removing stigma; strengthening access to services; improving research; better training of health care providers; public education to combat misinformation and myths; equitable access to treatment and care; and putting workplace policies in place. By March, Weiss-Wolf noticed many of the ideas mentioned were being addressed in proposed legislation around the country.

“The idea was that with these bigger ideas and frameworks out there,” Weiss-Wolf said, “grassroots folks and legislators themselves would have the tools they needed to introduce and advance them if that was their agenda, which it was very exciting to see [that] it was in many states.”

According to an analysis by the Women’s Media Center, of the 20 bills presented, seven aimed for clinics and health services, including state health departments, to educate the public on the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. Proposals in these bills, including Texas House Bill 3961, New York Senate Bill S1720, and Arizona House Bill 2734, addressed steps like posting information on health department websites, developing education programs, and creating awareness campaigns for hormone replacement treatment.

Arizona state Representative Nancy Gutierrez was one legislator who wanted to take action on this front. Earlier this year, she introduced HB 2734, which would require the Department of Health Services to work with health care providers to enact menopause education programs, explaining she wanted not only physicians to have the latest information on perimenopause and menopause, but patients as well so they would feel empowered and know what questions to ask. It was inspired by an op-ed she wrote over a year ago about having a hysterectomy.

“I wrote the op-ed,” Gutierrez said, “And I got a lot of great feedback from my constituents saying, ‘Thank you for putting that out there and being so brave.’ I just didn’t think it was brave. I thought, this is health care. I’m not the only woman having a hysterectomy, and I’m not ashamed of it. I want other women to be able to share that information with each other.”

Other bills have dealt with insurance coverage and workplace protection. New Jersey’s AB A5278 called for insurance coverage for “medically necessary perimenopause and menopause treatments,” and Oregon’s HB 3064 would require coverage for treatment for perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause through certain insurance providers. As for workplace protection, some, like Rhode Island’s SB 361, would require workplace accommodations for menopause-related conditions.

Other bills focused on training medical professionals and clinicians on menopause, since many gynecologists have inadequate training on the issue. A 2022 survey found that only 31.3% of U.S. obstetrics and gynecology residency program directors reported having a menopause curriculum.

California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced AB 432, which will strengthen training for health care providers when it comes to menopause care. Bauer-Kahan said she experienced brain fog as part of her perimenopause symptoms, yet two doctors told her she was fine. A friend recommended another doctor, who recognized what was really happening. This kind of experience with medical professionals is all too common.

“Women are over half the population,” Bauer-Kahan said, “and yet our health care system fails to provide us with the care we need as we age. This legislation closes the care gap, ensuring that menopause is treated as the central health need it is, not as an afterthought. We deserve comprehensive coverage and informed medical care, just like any other stage of life.”

The bill now sits on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, waiting to be signed.

In Illinois, state Rep. Lilian Jimenez co-sponsored HB 5295, which requires insurance coverage of medically necessary hormonal and nonhormonal therapy for menopause symptoms. Like her Arizona and California counterparts, Jimenez, a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee, was inspired by her own experience through perimenopause.

“By expanding coverage,” she said, “it allows women to have equitable access, including Black and Brown women. Nearly half do not have access to private insurance. So this [bill] lifts all women.” According to the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, “About 7.9% of Black people and 15.8% of Hispanic or Latino people in Illinois didn’t have insurance in 2021, compared with only 4.3% of white people.” HB 5295 was signed into law and will go into effect January 1.

The third menopause-related bill that was passed was Louisiana’s HB 392, which mandates insurance coverage for menopause and perimenopause care.

Where proposed bills have not passed, advocates are working to build support. Gutierrez said that despite her bill’s positive reception from many Arizona residents, she was unable to get the Republican majority to support it, and she’s now rewriting the legislation to soften requirements for physicians to discuss certain topics, taking into account the limited time doctors have with their patients.

Some entities in the medical establishment have been resistant to mandates in some of the proposals. In a statement, Dr. Nisha Verma, senior advisor for reproductive health policy and advocacy for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), called such bills “well-intentioned,” but cautioned that they can affect how a doctor works with each patient.

“How one person experiences menopause and will respond to the various treatment options available is highly individualized,” said Verma. “Legislative interference in the practice of medicine can affect OB-GYNs’ ability to respond appropriately to the patient in front of them. ACOG is not supportive of legislation that mandates particular counseling or treatment options for menopause as ob-gyns must be able to provide the evidence-based care their individual patients need.” Verma added that ACOG supports insurance coverage of menopause treatment as well as education and training on menopause and perimenopause.

Weiss-Wolf is looking forward to January, when most legislatures resume session, with a chance for more legislation to be introduced.

“I definitely expect to see much more of this in 2026,” she said. “This was very much led by leaders in those states who’ve been following this issue and reading these ideas. I think now that there's been much more attention to what happened in the 2025 legislative session, in 2026 we're going to see more people mobilizing around this.”